AN ONLINE service which will allow parents to see the classification and content details of any new DVD release before allowing their children to rent it has been launched by the Irish Film Classification Office (Ifco).
When a film or television DVD title is entered on the Ifco search option on its website, details of the film’s genre, director, cast, duration and release date will appear along with its age certification.
The site then goes on to describe the contents of the film through four categories: violence, drugs, sexual content/nudity and use of offensive language. The film is given a rating of: none, mild, moderate or strong for each of the four categories.
A brief narrative description of the nature of any content which falls into the above categories and might be considered offensive is then given. The service is already available for films which have had a cinema release.
The new service deals with the differences in classification which can arise when director’s cuts of films are released on DVD or when extras such as out-takes or interviews contain more explicit content than the initial cinema film.
Further details on the service are available at www.ifco.ie.
